Past
The people who once called the Ivory Kingdoms their home have a proud and noble history that dates back to before even the Day of Wrath, when the Nagah race ruled the world with an iron fist, or so the stories say. Then, one day, the Nagah all disappeared, leaving their vast empire to be conquered by others. The Ivindi people formed dozens of small kingdoms who all warred with one another for generations. It was during this time that the gods first appeared to the Ivindi people. Many of the current day Houses were formed during this age of peace. But eventually the Avatars of the gods grew old and died, leaving the gods to ascend into the Heavens once more. That was when the Rakshasa struck. Led by the Rakshasa King Revan, the demons quickly conquered the vast majority of the native lands and even pushed into the lands of the Rat People to the East. They ruled with blood and fear for two hundred years before the arrival of Arun and the Buddha. Arun was a noble from the northern reaches of what would become the Ivory Kingdoms and when his bride-to-be was kidnapped by Revan he swore to free her. In his attempt to save her, he was inspired by the Buddha to seek out others, including Hanuman and Sugriva, two other Avatars. Arun, the Avatar of Vishnu, slew Revan in battle and scattered the remaining Rakshasa, locking many of them away behind a great magical seal.
Arun went on to found the Ivory Kingdoms as they would be known for over a thousand years. After a few centuries, a climactic and devastating civil war broke out between the ruling Pandavah. Hundreds of thousands died in the fighting known as the Kurukshetra War. The final battle of the war lasted for eight days and by the end both sides were so ravaged by the fighting that they had no choice but to make peace. Since then the Ivory Kingdoms existed in relative peace. Though the occasional Cultist cell would gain strength or the demons of the Eastern Forest would make a brutal attack, these dangers were fought off.
Present
It was a combination of matters that lead to the downfall of the Ivory Kingdoms. The Order of the Ebon Hand, who had been one of the greatest forces in the Kingdoms against the cultists, fled into the Burning Sands in the face of renewed assaults against their sacred charge. The decision saved the Order from destruction, but also removed from play one of the largest forces acting against the cultists, who managed to gain several positions of power within the Kingdoms over a dozen generations. Once they had command of House Rafiq the Rumali spread their influence to the other Houses and eventually came to the point where they were ready to strike. They planned to begin a war with Rokugan, confident that the victory they achieved would be bloody and hard fought, leaving the Ivory Kingdoms in a weakened state that would allow the Rhumalists to take over and bring forth Kali-Ma. Information was leaked to Rokugan to give them enough time to build up their own fleets and make the war as bloody as possible.
What the Rhumalists had not intended was for the Mantis to discover their existence, however, and as the Shadow war began they had only a vague notion that they had been found out. By the time the war became an open conflict, they realized what had been happening and formed a new plan. The Mantis and their Suresh allies had been focusing on House Rafiq, so the Rhumalites encouraged them to do so, bringing House Rafiq more and more into the forefront of the conflict even as they insulated it against the fallout of defeat. When the Mantis managed their stunning victory, House Rafiq was purged, token cells and middle-management was lost, as well as several who had not been involved in the conspiracy at all. It had been a loss for the Rhumalites, but not nearly so devastating as the Ivory Kingdoms and Rokugan were lead to believe.
Within twenty years they had made up their losses, and the Ivory Kingdoms were none the wiser to a threat they thought was defeated. The war that killed the Kingdoms began suddenly, when a group of Rhumali managed to assassinate the Maharaja and most of the ruling family. Rule of the Kingdoms fell to a distant cousin even as House Rafiq began their war. The cultists that had been imbedded in each of the other Houses all struck as well, killing thousands of Kshatriya in an orgy of blood that caused the first whisperings of the coming of Kali-Ma. As the civil war continued and the blood rituals only increased in number, the power of Kali-Ma grew until she could challenge the gods themselves, tearing down each, one by one, and devouring their souls to increase her own power. Tens of thousands fled the slaughter, though many did not manage to escape. Some fled into the tainted lands, others took to ships that were sunk by the madness of the Sea of Shadows, most who fled and lived went North, coming to Medinaat al-Salaam and other City-States. When the end came, the Maharaja was not there to see it, his advisors already having spirited him away to the Desert to continue the line.
In Medinaat al-Salaam, the Ivindi did not find a warm welcome. The survivors were met with suspicion from both the city’s population and their own brethren who had come here before the trouble began. The trouble had been so sudden and so bloody that there was a fear that the so called refugees were merely more Rhumali cultists intent on spreading the destruction to the City. Paranoia eventually boiled over when a native Dahabi was found murdered, surrounded by occultish tools. The citizens rioted and the refugees were turned upon by city and citizen alike. By the end of the month nearly every member of House Rafiq in the city had been put to the sword. After that, time and the presence of the Ebonite Order kept the worst of the anger in check and slowly but surely the Ivindi people have been trying to work their way back into the city’s graces.
Future
The Future of the Ivindi is in greater peril than perhaps any other who make their home in the Burning Sands. Their home still lies under the dominion of a Dark God who would see them all sacrificed to her name, the people of the city distrust them, they have little surviving contact network, and few friends. The Ivindi will have to begin rebuilding somewhere, the biggest question however is where they will try, however.
Leaders
Maharaja
Sanjaya is the fourth Maharaja since the awakening of Kali-Ma. Before him was his father, who was killed towards the end of the war by the Cult of Ruhmal. Before him was his uncle, who was killed in the midst of the fighting, again by the Cult of Ruhmal. Finally there was his cousin, the Maharaja who had overseen the alliance with the Mantis, who died of plague just before the war began. Only a distant relation of the Maharaja family, the burden of rulership was never meant to be his. He’d been groomed for a good marriage to another Great House, but it had never been expected that he would one day rule. But when the plague took the Maharaja and his entire immediate family the line was moved across to the Maharaja’s brother’s line, as his brother had died three years ago it moved to his eldest son.
The fighting was bloody and ruthless and many in his family died deaths best not even imagined, until finally the mantle fell to his father. He led the Kingdoms against the Cultists for months before they managed to find him and tore him and most of his family to ribbons. Sanjaya survived the fighting under the floorboards along with his younger sister, where the blood of all those who were killed poured through the cracks to cover them. He did not say a word though, and some say he has not said a word since.
The following morning, when survivors searched through the remains, it was the cries of her little sister that brought attention to the two blood soaked girls. They were the only two survivors of the battle. A month later, a quick ceremony was held, naming him the Maharaja Sanjaya. It was a desperate move, but the Ivindi people needed a leader, even if it is just a boy. Most decisions are made by his advisors, though those who have seen the Maharaja have noticed the boy has an odd beauty to him, thin and lithe over strong and stocky.
Raja
Bhaskara Yadu is a general through and through. Large, with a booming voice and a keen mind, Bhaskara is the main reason that so many refugees survived to arrive in Medinaat al-Salaam. His actions against Kali-ma are legendary, even if most of them ended in failure. His quick move to guerrilla tactics against Kali-ma where others still attempted to fight her forces on the field stalled her advance time and time again, allowing thousands the time needed to flee.
Still, it was never enough. Bhaskara lost his family to Kali-ma’s monsters, he lost his home, and his city as well. Like most Ivindi, he has lost everything, unlike most though, he was in a position to fight against it. His losses weigh heavily on the man and here in Medinaat al-Salaam, the City of Peace, he can find none. Survivor’s guilt wreaks havoc on his mind and the famed general has taken to the bottle every night with no sign of slowing down. He also has a growing paranoia that has him watching his fellow refugees closely for signs that any might secretly be cultists.
Every day, Bhaskara speaks of going to reclaim his homeland, and pushes for it in his role as an advisor to the Maharaja. Many can see his growing instability, and worry not only for him, but for what will happen to the Ivindi if he is lost.
Brahamana
The head of what remains of the religious order of the Ivindi refugees, Priya Mishra is the solid core of her people and many say the true regent of the Maharaja. She is unyielding in many ways and leaves no room for question in her statements. The war has made her hard, but for it her people have lived. She calls it a worthy sacrifice. Still, she holds on to many secrets that she does not feel her people are ready for, and only time will tell if she made the right choice.
Priya Mishra was a lowly priestess of Saraswati before the fall of the Kingdoms. But when the war began, she felt her goddess die and that feeling alone nearly tore her apart. She recovered though, arranging refugee caravans, keeping them hidden from the Ruhmalists as best she could. While the Maharaja left the Ivory Kingdoms with Bhaskara, many say that Priya was the last refugee to leave the Ivory Kingdoms, she came to this city with the Last Caravan, having adopted five children along the way. She speaks very little of these children, and keeps them hidden away as often as possible, but those few times they have been seen people have commented on how wise and beautiful they were for children.
Priya has also busied herself with another secret project. She has spent a great deal of time speaking to what Rokugani there are in the city, and some have seen her studying a set of gems intensely, reading papers while doing so. Some whisper she is working on some way of defeating Kali-Ma, but her efforts have thus far borne no fruit.
History
PastThe people who once called the Ivory Kingdoms their home have a proud and noble history that dates back to before even the Day of Wrath, when the Nagah race ruled the world with an iron fist, or so the stories say. Then, one day, the Nagah all disappeared, leaving their vast empire to be conquered by others. The Ivindi people formed dozens of small kingdoms who all warred with one another for generations. It was during this time that the gods first appeared to the Ivindi people. Many of the current day Houses were formed during this age of peace. But eventually the Avatars of the gods grew old and died, leaving the gods to ascend into the Heavens once more. That was when the Rakshasa struck. Led by the Rakshasa King Revan, the demons quickly conquered the vast majority of the native lands and even pushed into the lands of the Rat People to the East. They ruled with blood and fear for two hundred years before the arrival of Arun and the Buddha. Arun was a noble from the northern reaches of what would become the Ivory Kingdoms and when his bride-to-be was kidnapped by Revan he swore to free her. In his attempt to save her, he was inspired by the Buddha to seek out others, including Hanuman and Sugriva, two other Avatars. Arun, the Avatar of Vishnu, slew Revan in battle and scattered the remaining Rakshasa, locking many of them away behind a great magical seal.
Arun went on to found the Ivory Kingdoms as they would be known for over a thousand years. After a few centuries, a climactic and devastating civil war broke out between the ruling Pandavah. Hundreds of thousands died in the fighting known as the Kurukshetra War. The final battle of the war lasted for eight days and by the end both sides were so ravaged by the fighting that they had no choice but to make peace. Since then the Ivory Kingdoms existed in relative peace. Though the occasional Cultist cell would gain strength or the demons of the Eastern Forest would make a brutal attack, these dangers were fought off.
Present
It was a combination of matters that lead to the downfall of the Ivory Kingdoms. The Order of the Ebon Hand, who had been one of the greatest forces in the Kingdoms against the cultists, fled into the Burning Sands in the face of renewed assaults against their sacred charge. The decision saved the Order from destruction, but also removed from play one of the largest forces acting against the cultists, who managed to gain several positions of power within the Kingdoms over a dozen generations. Once they had command of House Rafiq the Rumali spread their influence to the other Houses and eventually came to the point where they were ready to strike. They planned to begin a war with Rokugan, confident that the victory they achieved would be bloody and hard fought, leaving the Ivory Kingdoms in a weakened state that would allow the Rhumalists to take over and bring forth Kali-Ma. Information was leaked to Rokugan to give them enough time to build up their own fleets and make the war as bloody as possible.
What the Rhumalists had not intended was for the Mantis to discover their existence, however, and as the Shadow war began they had only a vague notion that they had been found out. By the time the war became an open conflict, they realized what had been happening and formed a new plan. The Mantis and their Suresh allies had been focusing on House Rafiq, so the Rhumalites encouraged them to do so, bringing House Rafiq more and more into the forefront of the conflict even as they insulated it against the fallout of defeat. When the Mantis managed their stunning victory, House Rafiq was purged, token cells and middle-management was lost, as well as several who had not been involved in the conspiracy at all. It had been a loss for the Rhumalites, but not nearly so devastating as the Ivory Kingdoms and Rokugan were lead to believe.
Within twenty years they had made up their losses, and the Ivory Kingdoms were none the wiser to a threat they thought was defeated. The war that killed the Kingdoms began suddenly, when a group of Rhumali managed to assassinate the Maharaja and most of the ruling family. Rule of the Kingdoms fell to a distant cousin even as House Rafiq began their war. The cultists that had been imbedded in each of the other Houses all struck as well, killing thousands of Kshatriya in an orgy of blood that caused the first whisperings of the coming of Kali-Ma. As the civil war continued and the blood rituals only increased in number, the power of Kali-Ma grew until she could challenge the gods themselves, tearing down each, one by one, and devouring their souls to increase her own power. Tens of thousands fled the slaughter, though many did not manage to escape. Some fled into the tainted lands, others took to ships that were sunk by the madness of the Sea of Shadows, most who fled and lived went North, coming to Medinaat al-Salaam and other City-States. When the end came, the Maharaja was not there to see it, his advisors already having spirited him away to the Desert to continue the line.
In Medinaat al-Salaam, the Ivindi did not find a warm welcome. The survivors were met with suspicion from both the city’s population and their own brethren who had come here before the trouble began. The trouble had been so sudden and so bloody that there was a fear that the so called refugees were merely more Rhumali cultists intent on spreading the destruction to the City. Paranoia eventually boiled over when a native Dahabi was found murdered, surrounded by occultish tools. The citizens rioted and the refugees were turned upon by city and citizen alike. By the end of the month nearly every member of House Rafiq in the city had been put to the sword. After that, time and the presence of the Ebonite Order kept the worst of the anger in check and slowly but surely the Ivindi people have been trying to work their way back into the city’s graces.
Future
The Future of the Ivindi is in greater peril than perhaps any other who make their home in the Burning Sands. Their home still lies under the dominion of a Dark God who would see them all sacrificed to her name, the people of the city distrust them, they have little surviving contact network, and few friends. The Ivindi will have to begin rebuilding somewhere, the biggest question however is where they will try, however.
Leaders
MaharajaSanjaya is the fourth Maharaja since the awakening of Kali-Ma. Before him was his father, who was killed towards the end of the war by the Cult of Ruhmal. Before him was his uncle, who was killed in the midst of the fighting, again by the Cult of Ruhmal. Finally there was his cousin, the Maharaja who had overseen the alliance with the Mantis, who died of plague just before the war began. Only a distant relation of the Maharaja family, the burden of rulership was never meant to be his. He’d been groomed for a good marriage to another Great House, but it had never been expected that he would one day rule. But when the plague took the Maharaja and his entire immediate family the line was moved across to the Maharaja’s brother’s line, as his brother had died three years ago it moved to his eldest son.
The fighting was bloody and ruthless and many in his family died deaths best not even imagined, until finally the mantle fell to his father. He led the Kingdoms against the Cultists for months before they managed to find him and tore him and most of his family to ribbons. Sanjaya survived the fighting under the floorboards along with his younger sister, where the blood of all those who were killed poured through the cracks to cover them. He did not say a word though, and some say he has not said a word since.
The following morning, when survivors searched through the remains, it was the cries of her little sister that brought attention to the two blood soaked girls. They were the only two survivors of the battle. A month later, a quick ceremony was held, naming him the Maharaja Sanjaya. It was a desperate move, but the Ivindi people needed a leader, even if it is just a boy. Most decisions are made by his advisors, though those who have seen the Maharaja have noticed the boy has an odd beauty to him, thin and lithe over strong and stocky.
Raja
Bhaskara Yadu is a general through and through. Large, with a booming voice and a keen mind, Bhaskara is the main reason that so many refugees survived to arrive in Medinaat al-Salaam. His actions against Kali-ma are legendary, even if most of them ended in failure. His quick move to guerrilla tactics against Kali-ma where others still attempted to fight her forces on the field stalled her advance time and time again, allowing thousands the time needed to flee.
Still, it was never enough. Bhaskara lost his family to Kali-ma’s monsters, he lost his home, and his city as well. Like most Ivindi, he has lost everything, unlike most though, he was in a position to fight against it. His losses weigh heavily on the man and here in Medinaat al-Salaam, the City of Peace, he can find none. Survivor’s guilt wreaks havoc on his mind and the famed general has taken to the bottle every night with no sign of slowing down. He also has a growing paranoia that has him watching his fellow refugees closely for signs that any might secretly be cultists.
Every day, Bhaskara speaks of going to reclaim his homeland, and pushes for it in his role as an advisor to the Maharaja. Many can see his growing instability, and worry not only for him, but for what will happen to the Ivindi if he is lost.
Brahamana
The head of what remains of the religious order of the Ivindi refugees, Priya Mishra is the solid core of her people and many say the true regent of the Maharaja. She is unyielding in many ways and leaves no room for question in her statements. The war has made her hard, but for it her people have lived. She calls it a worthy sacrifice. Still, she holds on to many secrets that she does not feel her people are ready for, and only time will tell if she made the right choice.
Priya Mishra was a lowly priestess of Saraswati before the fall of the Kingdoms. But when the war began, she felt her goddess die and that feeling alone nearly tore her apart. She recovered though, arranging refugee caravans, keeping them hidden from the Ruhmalists as best she could. While the Maharaja left the Ivory Kingdoms with Bhaskara, many say that Priya was the last refugee to leave the Ivory Kingdoms, she came to this city with the Last Caravan, having adopted five children along the way. She speaks very little of these children, and keeps them hidden away as often as possible, but those few times they have been seen people have commented on how wise and beautiful they were for children.
Priya has also busied herself with another secret project. She has spent a great deal of time speaking to what Rokugani there are in the city, and some have seen her studying a set of gems intensely, reading papers while doing so. Some whisper she is working on some way of defeating Kali-Ma, but her efforts have thus far borne no fruit.